The shadow that became his light
by Nitsuya
Summary: From an early age Akashi Seijuro had learned not to show his negative emoticons to anyone. His silky red hair, his crimson eyes and his pale skin attracted countless of admirers of both genders. However, despite having accomplished the perfection to his father's standards Akashi had no one to confine in. One day due to his carelessness a shadow managed to find a place in his heart
1. Prologue

**Summary**: From an early age Akashi Seijuro had learned not to show his negative emoticons to anyone. The only thing he was allowed to show was his perfection. People had been considering Akashi Seijuro as perfection itself. His silky red hair, his crimson eyes and his pale skin attracted countless of admirers of both genders. However, despite having accomplished the perfection to his father's standards, Akashi had no one to confine in. He was always busy concealing the real Akashi Seijuro. One day due to his carelessness a shadow managed to find a place in his heart. Shadows are considered dark, but to Akashi this shadow was brighter than the sun. Slowly, but surely this shadow was pulling out the real Akashi Seijuro.

**A/N:** The story is rated T for now, but I'm 100% sure it will turn to M later. The story is unbeta'ed. I will apologise in advance for any mistakes in the story. This is my first fanfic in ages. I can't even remember the last time I wrote a fanfic. But AkaKuro needs more love!

**Pairing:** AkaKuro/KuroAka

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko No Basket

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**Prologue**

Darkness fell upon the sky as twilight disappeared. Allowing a glowing full moon to make its appearance. The air was quiet and no sound could be heard, aside from the crying wind rushing through the trees, causing their precious leaves to fall down and cover the earth below. Barely hidden among these trees one could find a big mansion protected by a huge golden gate. And just behind the gate, there was an endless green garden. One who saw the mansion would say it came straight out of a fairy tale. Everyone in the neighbourhood seemed to have heard about the wealthy and famous Akashi family who habited the place. Fear and respect was shown to those who carried the name _Akashi_. They knew the fairy tale-like mansion was just an illusion to eye and they knew the head of the Akashi family had changed after his wife gave birth to his son, Seijuro. The head of the Akashi household was a scary man who had created his own definition of "_forever happily after"_, which was _perfection_.

A sudden loud crash could be heard from the mansion if one had listened carefully. A small red haired boy laid on the floor of the dining room with his back against the cupboard. He was surrounded by broken crockery that had fallen out of their place earlier. The butlers and maids who were present in the room looked painfully to the other side avoiding the view of the boy who had just been hit by his father. The little boy had crimson red eyes and these eyes slowly started to gather tears. It didn't take long before his vision got blurry. Yet, this boy did not allow wet teardrops to roll down and reach his cheeks. He covered his burning cheek with his right hand and with his left he wiped away the tears that had just barely managed to escape from his control. He bit his lips in order to hide his silent cries. No matter how painful things were the boy knew to avoid making any unnecessary sounds that could anger the older man even more. It wasn't the first time this incident occurred in the Akashi household. Ever since the little boy had lost his mother his father would snap at him for the smallest mistakes he made or rather what his father would consider a _mistake. _

The older man stared at his son with cold piercing eyes, causing the boy to shiver in fear. These eyes showed nothing but hate towards the child. The man had raised his hand again and just before he could lay another hit on the boy, the head maid rushed in covering the little boy with her embrace.

"Akashi-sama! please stop! It has been enough! Seijuro-sama has done nothing wrong!" The maid cried, trying to protect the boy in her arms. "Why do you keep doing this? You know this would never make Madam happy! I know you share the same wishes as she had, so why Akashi-sama? Why are you doing this?! Seijuro-sama is only ten years old! You cannot expect him to be perfect at everything at this age!" She shouted loudly. Her eyes stared at him in disbelieve.

"Who are you to defy my judgment? Do you think you have the right to turn your back against me, just because you were my wife's best friend? You are being very ignorant." The older man snapped at the maid. "This boy is a shame to the Akashi household. He can't even get full marks on his tests. His teacher phoned telling me Seijuro had only gotten 99/100 today. To think that my own blood would embarrass me like that. This boy is a mere waste of money and time. Remove him from my sight immediately and don't you dare to let him come near me until he is able to succeed my expectations." The older male growled angrily.

"An Akashi must always be perfect and this boy is everything except perfect." The older man turned his back to the maid and started to walk towards the exit of the dinning hall. "I am ashamed to call myself _the father_ of this boy." He added, before vanishing into the darkness of the other room.

The maid let out a sigh before turning her focus to the child in her arms. "Serijuro-sama" she said softly, slowly running her fingers through the red hair. "It's OK now. He won't hurt you anymore." She added. She looked at the shivering boy. "Tomorrow is Sunday and you will have some time for yourself. I will take you to the basketball court OK?" The boy muttered something in response. "Seijuro-sama?" The little red-haired boy finally looked at the maid who protected him, showing his glistering crimson eyes. He nodded softly, before pushing himself free from her embrace. "I said, I apologise for my earlier behaviour…" he whimpered and dashed away, leaving the maid behind, shocked. "Seijuro-sama…"

~.~.~

The small red haired boy softly closed the door behind him. His eyes scanned his room slowly. He was all alone in this big room, with nothing besides stacks of books, his desk and his precious basketball hidden in the corner. Despite being afraid of the darkness that surrounded him, he could not bring himself to switch on the lights. He walked towards his bed and covered himself with his soft white blankets. Finally, he could allow himself to be honest in this big house called _his_ _home_. Tears started to flow down his face as he buried himself into his pillow. Small hiccups could be heard between his small sobs. His hands were clutching into the pillow tightly. _Why is this happening?_ _Why am I so weak? Why can't I satisfy the man who is called my father? Mom, what should I do? I'm so lost. I feel so alone. I don't know what to do. I can't be perfect. I'm pushing myself to the end and yet I can't even get full marks to please father. Maybe I really am just a waste… a waste of everything._ The more he thought about it, the harder he cried. Luckily no one would disturb the boy now. This moment belonged to him, and him alone. No one had to know how the boy really felt about his life.

After a while the boy's sobs started to lessen as he gathered his strength to open the curtains. The clouds were covering the bright light of the full moon that tried to shine upon him, as if it was trying to tell him something. The boy smiled sadly as he looked at the bright light. _Even in the darkness of the night you are still fighting to shine brightly, right? _ He opened the windows and felt a chilly breeze cherishing his cheek softly. The air smelled fresh tonight. A scent like this made the boy feel alive. The boy continued to stare at the moon endlessly, lost in his thoughts. It seemed like the moon struggled to send his radiate light through the night sky. For some reason this view looked mesmerising to the red haired boy, perhaps because the beautiful orb reminded the boy of himself. Before the boy realised, the light was shining upon him brightly without any obstacles. The clouds had disappeared in the midst of the air, allowing the full moon to display its full potential. The brightness of the moon moved the boy to tears again. _Are you telling me that despite how dark my life is now, I can make the light shine through again?_

It didn't take long before the boy had calmed down completely. His eyes felt heavy and he left a small yawn, making him decide to get some sleep. After all he didn't want to feel tired tomorrow. It was Sunday tomorrow and Sunday was the day he could practice basketball. Basketball was the only thing, which never failed to bring out the boy's genuine smile.

That night the boy fell asleep as the silent moon watched over him.

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**Reviews are highly appreciated and help me update the story faster :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** The story is unbeta'ed. I will apologise in advance for any mistakes in the story. This fanfic follows the original manga storyline, therefore there will be **spoilers**. In this chapter that would be chapter **204** and **205** from the manga.

**Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows :)**

**Pairing:** AkaKuro/KuroAka

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko No Basket

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**Chapter 1**

A red haired boy rose from his bed as the sun started its daily routine. He opened the windows and inhaled the air deeply. The grass was sparkling with morning dew and the birds were already chirping. The boy smiled, he hadn't feel this excited for god knows how long. Today, Akashi Seijuro would enter a new phase in his life. It was the beginning of April, which meant the beginning of a new semester. He would finally start his life as a junior high school student. To his own surprise his father had allowed him to enrol into a school of his choice, as reward for reaching his father's expectations. His father even gave him permission him to join the basketball team. Of course, this did not go without any expectations. He still had to maintain and show perfect results in everything he does. After all, perfection was the only way to live according to the older Akashi, which also meant that he was never allowed to lose a match, not even a practice match, and if he did, he would have to quit immediately.

The sound of a knock on his bedroom door made the red haired boy snap his attention away from his thoughts. The door opened, it was the maid. "Good morning Seijuro-sama. It's surprising to see that you aren't dressed yet." she smiled, "breakfast is ready. Please, come down once you're ready." The maid bowed politely, before excusing herself.

Akashi walked towards his wardrobe and opened it, staring at his new school uniform. He liked the Teiko School uniform. This uniform had something the other uniforms didn't have, which was the cyan blouse. Most people assumed his favourite colour was red, however in reality his favourite colour was blue. The colour blue often managed to calm him down, most likely because it reminded him of _freedom_. It was the colour of the endless sky and the mysterious sea. There was a time Seijuro had seen rare shade of blue during his visit to the shopping mall. He had turned around to search for the shade that had caught his eye, but to his disappointment he did not see the colour again. The colour seemed to have vanished as if it had been part of his imagination, perhaps it was. The shade he saw was hard to describe. It seemed like a combination of baby blue, cyan and teal. Ever since that occurrence he would try to figure out why that colour appealed him so much, wanting to have a glimpse of it once more.

Soon after, the excited Akashi entered the dining hall fully dressed. He wore the blouse with a tie, and finished it with a white blazer and matching white trousers. He ate his breakfast as quickly as he could in the most courteous way possible. Once he had finished his meal, the maid approached him to inform him that the chauffeur was ready to leave. He grabbed his blue bag and closed the door behind him, walking to the private car park. He frowned upon seeing the car his dad had prepared for him.

_Using a mini limousine to drive a student to school? _The boy chuckled. _I should have seen this coming. _Despite disliking the older Akashi, he knew his father loved to show off his wealth to the world in the most childish way ever and right now the best way to do that was via his son.

~.~.~

"Stop the car here." Akashi ordered. He did not want to gather of attention of even more bothersome people with this ridiculous car. "Are you sure you want to get off here, Seijuro-sama?" the chauffeur asked as he stopped the car. "Yes, also, after today you do not need to fetch me to or pick me up from school anymore." Akashi replied, hoping the chauffeur would leave him alone. The chauffeur hesitated a bit before replying to the young boy. "But… Even if you say that… you're father told me to –" "My father has nothing to do with this" he interrupted. "At least allow me to have my freedom at school" Akashi smiled, staring with his red orbs at the chauffeur. He knew none of the servants in his household would ever oppose this killer look. The chauffeur signed. "As you wish Seijuro-sama. Please be careful of your way back and have a nice day."

Finally, the red head thought. Before he could reply back to his chauffeur, a familiar shade of blue flashed before his eyes. His eyes widened in disbelieve, wondering if his brain was playing mind games with him again. It was just a colour and yet curiosity overwhelmed him. It was bothersome. He signed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. _Urgh_… _This must be the effect of all the excitement._

_~.~.~_

Akashi enrolled into the basketball club without any problems. Together with 3 other freshmen he joined the first string. Everyday he would practice as hard as he could, enjoying the presence of his teammates. He noticed how he had been improving rapidly. Some teammates would curse him for acting all mighty despite his status as a freshman, but together with the other 3 boys he always managed to get them to shut up. Sometimes it would bother Akashi how it seemed like his inner-self would take a shelter in his heart whenever hurtful words were said. It was not that he minded to be criticised, but it seemed like whenever people would criticise him a different part of him would appear to the surface. And in _his_ eyes, one that was performing worse than he was did not have the right to open his month. He noticed he became more and more like his father. He despised that feeling. _ Perfection. _It had been haunting his unconsciousness even more than before.

3 months had passed and Akashi had been appointed to be the vice-captain, increasing his popularity among the girls of his school. Whenever he passed a member of the opposite member they would stare at him before letting out a squeal. _"Akashi-kun is so hot!"_ one girl whispered to the other. The red-head had decided to ignore these girls. He was about to the main building when someone called out to him.

"Akashi-kun! Wait!" The green haired boy yelled, running towards him. "What's wrong, Midorima?" The red-head asked.

"Have you seen Aomine-kun?"

_Aomine?_ _Oh, that's right_. Lately, Aomine seemed to disappear whenever he had the chance. "I haven't. What do you need him for?" Akashi asked curiously, wondering what the green-haired boy needed the other for. Midorima sighed, pushing his glasses up. "I really thought you would know, after all, usually nothing would escape your eye."He replied, avoiding the question. Akashi chuckled at the statement. Well, that was true. Now he _must_ know what Aomine was doing. "You've triggered my curiousity, Midorima. I'll help you search for him."

"Oh? The all mighty Akashi-kun is actually interested in another?" Midorima smirked. "Oha-Asa predicted that Sagittarius would be my ally today. It was a good decision to come to you." The red-head thought about the solutions to the problem before answering."Knowing Aomine he is probably at either one of the gyms or at the rooftop. Let's check those places out first."

~.~.~

As the two boys walked towards the other gym, they spotted a familiar boy, who was enjoying a strawberry flavoured candy bar. "Ah! Akachin, Midochin! What are you guys doing here?" The purple haired boy asked upon seeing the two boys who walked towards him. "Hello, Murasakibara, have you seen Aomine?" The red-head asked directly, without wasting any time. The purple haired boy stopped chewing on his candy bar "Minechin? Minechin is inside, playing basketball" He replied, pointing to the entrance of the gym.

"_I love basketball, but I can't imagine I can ever be any use to the team."_ an unknown soft voice said_. _

_"There is no such thing as a useless player on a team."_

_That voice definitely belongs to Aomine, but who is he talking to?_ Akashi wondered. "Murasakibara, Midorima, do you guys know who Aomine is talking to?" The red-head asked facing the other two. "If Akachin doesn't know, how are we suppose to know?" The purple haired boy replied. "Oha-Asa said Sagittarius would have a fateful encounter with Aquarius today" the other answered, pushing his glasses back to its right place.

"Aomine!" Akashi yelled out, as they reached the room where the tan boy had hid himself. His eyes scanned around the room trying to figure out who the latter was talking to. His eyes widened at the realisation of other presence in the room. And there it was… or rather there _he_ was. A boy with the mysterious shade of blue. The red-head gulped at the sight, feeling his heart beat a bit faster than usual. He clenched his hands into a fist at the abnormal occurrence. _Ah… this feeling again…_he smiled, hiding his eyes with his bangs.

"Aomine, who is he?" he asked, wanting to know more about this boy who managed to make him feel so strange.

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**Again, reviews are highly appreciated. They make me want to write faster. ;)**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** The story is unbeta'ed. I will apologise in advance for any mistakes in the story. This fanfic follows the original manga storyline, therefore it will contain **spoilers**.

**Pairing:** AkaKuro/KuroAka

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko No Basket

* * *

"Oh... He's someone I have been practising with lately" Aomine replied, not answering the redhead's question. _I can see that, but who is he? _ Akashi repeated in his mind. His eyes scanned over the boy. Analysing each aspect. Beautiful pale porcelain-like skin. Eyes blue as a clear summer sky and hair coloured like a Nemophila flower. Pink lips… Everything about this boy seemed so right yet _so wrong_. Never had he been interested in someone before and yet this creature in front of him seemed to rumble with his feelings the moment he laid his eyes on him _._For God's sake he didn't even _know_ this person he cursed himself. He couldn't possibly be interested in the boy in front of him.

"Hey~ Let's go already~" someone whined. It was the purple giant. It seemed like he already ran out of snacks that he had taken with him. The tall boy had left his bag behind to tag along with the two boys. Impatiently, he tugged on Akashi's sleeve.

"No wait" Akashi replied, still lost and dazed by the unknown boy's appearance. "I'm a little interested in him" Three pairs of widened eyes turned towards the vice-president. They were shocked by the words coming out of the red-head's mouths. The red-head was not someone who would normally show interest in anything other then basketball and shogi. Not to mention him showing interest in an actual person.

Akashi noticed a special presence around the boy. He couldn't quite describe it but it was as if the boy in front of him wasn't really there. _This boy, he is so..._ "Fascinating... I have never seen someone of this kind before."

He tried to maintain his focus as he just realised what he had said out loud. Luckily for him this boy did seem promising to the team. He had been talking with Midorima about the team missing something, needing something more exciting. Perhaps, the teal-head would be able to fill in the gap in the team. It seemed like he had been practicing with Aomine everyday until late. It was rare to find someone this motivated and devoted nowadays. Especially for people who weren't even in the first string. Assigning the boy to the team right away would be strange and risky, besides he hadn't seen him in action yet. However, just by observing the latter Akashi knew enough. It had always been his specialty to get to know people without interacting with them. He could tell that the tealhead had a special presence or rather barely any presence at all to a normal living being. His existence was ghost-like, hence he could definitely fool many eyes on the court. This was win-win situation that couldn't go wrong. He would train the boy and polish his skills. No one would ever dare to question him. Smirking at his own cleverness, Akashi decided to make this boy part of _his_team. After all those who carried the name Akashi would always get their way and this was the way Akashi wanted it to be.

"Would the rest of us mind going ahead of us? I would like to talk to him for a bit" he commanded, glancing at the others, hinting them to leave the two alone. His teammates raised their eyebrows at the command, before obeying him and leaving the two others alone in the gym. When the door of the gym finally closed, Akashi turned his attention to the remaining member.

Akashi held out his hand front of the boy as he introduced himself.

"I'm Akashi Seijuro"

The tealhead hesitated a bit, staring at the hand in front of him. It was unusual for the redhead to behave like this. Kuroko had been watching Akashi for a while with great respect for his brain and basketball skills, and he had heard about all the gossips about the red haired boy that were circulating. He took the latter's hand and shook it politely

"Kuroko Tetsuya"

"So why would the famous Akashi be interested in me?" he asked while keeping his usual pokerface, causing the redhead to smirk a little. Normally, one would not question his actions. Especially not this blunt.

"Kuroko, I am only interested in you for the sake of our team." Akashi replied, causing the tealhead to blink. He lowered his face, avoiding eye contact.

"Akashi-kun, I think you're making a mistake. Coach even told me to quit…"

"Kuroko, listen, first of all I am never wrong and I believe you definitely have a gift for basketball. It might not be obvious, but you definitely have it in you." Akashi started to explain. He made sure Kuroko was aware of his skills. There was a short silence before Kuroko started to tell Akashi about his insecurities. He told him how it made him feel hopeless whenever he saw Akashi, Aomine, Midorima and Murasakibara play. Akashi laughed and patted him on his back. He assured him, that despite being talented each one of them still had to practice to get better. And that he too has his own talent. He told him he would always support the tealhead until the tealhead didn't need him anymore. The tealhead was welcome to look for him whenever he had questions. He even suggested helping the tealhead practice every sunday, his day off. Akashi convinced Kuroko and himself that all this was only for the sake of obtaining the ultimate team.

The redhead took a red phone out of his pocket. "Kuroko, you have a mobile phone right?" The tealhead nodded and walked towards his bag, fishing out a cyan blue phone. The two boys stared at each other's phone. It took them a few seconds to realise they had the exact same model, but in a different colour. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, before the two let out a small chuckle. Without saying anything Kuroko and Akashi exchanged their phone numbers and emails. "Think about what I told you today, and make use of the your lack of presence, but remember that while you may have this strength does not mean you yourself are still weak. You should use this ability not for yourself, but for the team." _For me…_ he softly tapped on Kuroko's shoulder. Kuroko's lips curved. "Thank you, Akashi-kun"

The phone in Akashi's vibrated twice before starting to flash a cyan light. He flipped his phone open to read the message. He sighed as he put his phone away. "Sorry, Kuroko I have to go now. Good luck with finding your own style. I will see you on Sunday." He rushed out of the door. Leaving the tealhead before he could say anything.

~.~.~.~

When Akashi arrived home, his father was already waiting for him in the dining room. He took off hit coat and gave it to the maid. He washed his hands before going to the dining room.

"Seijuro, you're late. Don't make me wait for you again." His father said firmly, as he entered the room.

"I apologise for being late father. What is the urgent matter? It is rare for you to ask for me"

"Seijuro, this" He threw a big stack of paper sheets on the table. "Make sure you go through all these files and write a report on them by tomorrow midnight, don't forget to include the financial statement. It will be your first real challenge. Do not disappoint me," the older Akashi said. The maid packed the stack of paper sheets and excused herself. She was probably taking the files to his bedroom.

"I'll be excusing myself then, please bring the food to my room" He redhead said before leaving the room.

Lately, his dad had been loading him with more and more work. He kept pushing all kind of impossible jobs into him. To make the impossible, possible. There were days where the redhead didn't even close his eyes for a minute. He would pass out after he finished his tasks, only followed by more flaming of his dad. Although he was able to meet his father's expectations, his life did not get easier. In fact it might even had gotten worse ever since. He gave up on disobeying his father after the time his father had thrown him into a cupboard filled with crockery. That night he suffered from several injuries that weren't treated, because he was too upset to even notice them. The next day the head maid had frozen upon seeing his body. It was covered in wounds, bruises and scars from all the abuse his father had given him. She had treated the wounds with sad eyes. And ever since she would make sure he would reach his father's expectations in order to avoid more physical damage. She would control his schedule and make sure he understood everything that was taught. He was grateful to her. Without her life would probably have not been as bearable.

Despite being able to play basketball, but he had been living a robot life. He thought entering Junior High would change his father's attitude and it did, but not in the way he hoped. His father slowly started to increase both the amount and level of the work he had to do, next to his school life and his private classes.

He entered his room and saw the stack laying on his desk. _Urgh…_ He seated himself and started to read the first page. _'Changes on the financial marketing in China.'_ He skipped a few sheets and saw an article name, which caught his eye '_Akashi family to launch a new project in China.' _He froze at the link of these articles and what his father had just said. He couldn't believe this. Was the older Akashi seriously making him write a report analysis for the new project? Akashi let out a sigh. He looked at the clock. It was 7 p.m., which meant he had 31 hours left to write the report. No, less than 31 hours. He couldn't skip training. He didn't even want to skip it_. _He sighed. He ran his fingers through his red locks and closed his eyes, remembering the boy he had met earlier today. _Kuroko Tetsuya, _He felt the burden lessen when he thought about the boy, perhaps it was a way of comforting himself. When he opened his eyes again, he got up and opened the windows to let some fresh air inside. He smiled. It seemed like it was full moon again.

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**Like always reviews are highly appreciated. They make me happy and encourage me to write faster.**

**Thank you Flow Love, The Mafia-ish Addiction and Colibrys for leaving them :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:** The story is unbeta'ed. I will apologise in advance for any mistakes in the story. This fanfic follows the original manga storyline, therefore there will be **spoilers**.

**Pairing:** AkaKuro/KuroAka

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kuroko No Basket

* * *

Akashi took his phone from his pocket and put it on the desk. He began to read the stack of paper his father had given him. Noticing the level of the written documents and the amount he had received he concluded that he would be able to finish the report within 15 hours if he worked on it thoroughly. He opened laptop and started to type. After several hours he had finished almost one third of the articles. A vibration caused by his phone pulled him out of his concentration. He stopped typing and rubbed his eyes before taking a peek at the time. He had worked on the report for almost 5 hours now. It was midnight. He left out a small yawn, deciding he should take a short break before continuing. He grabbed the phone that was connected to the lines in the mansion and pressed the red button. It was the summon button for the servants. When the line connected he requested a cup of good old coffee and a snack to go with it. His stomach rumbled, he averted his eyes to the tray with food his maid had left behind earlier. He was so taken in by the report that he had completely forgotten to eat. He flipped his phone open to see who messaged him. A small smile formed on his lips.

"_Thank you for your time today Akashi-kun._

_It was a great please meeting you. I look_

_forward to seeing you on Sunday . _

_I hope you will have a good_ _night. _

_Sleep well._

_Kuroko Tetsuya"_

He liked the way the boy treated him. Normally, people would keep their distance a bit upon hearing his name or recognising his face. It made him feel superior. Although being superior wasn't a bad thing, it often made him feel very lonely. Recently, he had met a few people who were different. They would treat him normally and he was grateful to them. Being 'normal' was a rare thing for him. He appreciated it.

A knock was heard on his door.

"Come in" The maid entered his room with a food trolley. "Seijuro-sama, I have brought you a Brazilian bland coffee with a Blueberry Cheesecake." She looked at the untouched food that she had brought the boy for dinner. "I see you have not touched today's evening meal. You must eat and take of your body. It would be a disaster if you fainted due to lack of nutrition. I will ask the cook to prepare something warm for you." She smiled. "Is there something you would prefer?"

"There is no need to prepare something now. I will be fine with the cheesecake. You may now leave." The maid looked worriedly at the young boy. She took the tray with the untouched food and put it on the food trolley, leaving the room. Akashi already knew she would come back soon with something light for the night. Akashi took a sip of his coffee. It was hot, milky and bittersweet, but he loved it this way. He cut a small piece of the blueberry cheesecake with his knife. The blueberries fresh blueberries on top popped into his mouth, it was very _sweet. _He looked at his phone and decided to reply to the message he received earlier. With the fork still in his mouth, his fingers ran over the small keyboard of his phone.

_"Likewise Kuroko. It was my pleasure._

_I look forward to seeing your _

_Improvement. _

_Akashi Seijuro"_

He stared at the message, wondering if it was strange or too formal. He never had a 'normal friend' to text with. He had Midorima and Murasakibara, but these two boys weren't exactly what you could call _normal._ Murasakibara would only text Akashi to ask him about Limited Edition snacks that he had easy access to. As for Midorima whenever the two boys texted it would be about shogi. Besides, the green-head was always very formal with him and that didn't change. No matter how often they would hang out together.

After taking another bite of his cake, he sent the message. He looked at the clock to make sure he wouldn't waste too much time. 15 minutes had passed and his cake was only half eaten. He put his plate aside, finishing the coffee before returning to his report. Not long after his maid came in again this time with a bowl of noodle soup.

"Seijuro-sama, please eat something. You are starving yourself." She said with concern as she looked at the unfinished cheesecake. "I will stay here until you finish the noodles." She put the bowl of noodles on his desk.

Akashi was a bit annoyed with her meddling, but he knew she was right about starving himself. He had little food today and his stomach was already in protest with him. Instead of being selfish he gave in to her. He didn't want to argue with the maid anyway. He didn't have the energy nor the time to do so. He took the chopsticks and started to eat the noodles. The maid smiled at his obedience. After a few minutes he finished his food. His stomach was full. He continued writing his report until 5 in the morning, leaving 3 hours of work for the next day. He started to feel a bit too drowsy to produce a proper report he concluded. After all, his father would kill him if he spotted one mistake.

He got up from the seat and opened one of the doors in his room. Behind the room was his own private bathroom. He threw his clothes into the basket before stepping into the shower. Hot water ran over his body. He felt is tense muscles relaxing. Once he got out he quickly brushed his teeth before going to bed. He set the alarm for 07:30, which meant if he was able to sleep right away he would get two hours of sleep. He turned off the light and laid down on his soft bed. He covered himself with his soothing duvets and closed his eyes. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. That night he had a very pleasant dream. Although, he couldn't remember what it was like about when he woke up. He knew he had a good dream, one that had made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Surprisingly, he didn't have a headache either. He was able to go through the day without any problems. He had breakfast, went to class and his basketball practice and as soon he finished day his day at school he called his chauffeur to pick him up. Without any food, he finished his report within 2 hours instead of the 3 hours he had anticipated. He printed the report, bundled it and left it on his desk before passing out for the rest of the day. During the night one of the servants came into his room to fetch the report and for the first time in 3 years, he didn't wake up when someone entered his room.

~.~.~.~

Another day had passed. It was Thursday morning and the homeroom teacher of class A-1 had decided it would be nice for the students to have a self-study session. Most of the students had left the classroom to do some research in the library. One of these students was Akashi. He opened the door of the library and greeted the librarian politely before finding himself to seat in. He walked through some book closets and found himself a neat space in front of the window where he set down his bag, before walking towards the economic section of the books for his research. On his way he spotted a familiar shade of blue reading in the literature section. Curious about what the boy was reading he approached him by quietly tapping him on the shoulder, shocking the reading boy.

"?!" The boy turned around, his eyes meeting with Akashi's red ones. "Ah, Akashi-kun, it's you. Please, don't scare me like that."

"Haha, sorry. I didn't meant to" the redhead replied. He leaned over Kuroko's shoulder to look at the book he was reading. His face just an inch apart from the latter's. _Kuroko smells sweet_. "So, how are you? Are you getting anywhere with the advice I gave you?"

Kuroko stiffened to the sudden closeness of Akashi. He could feel his breath on him. His eyes shifted to the right, taking a peek at the redhead. Their eyes met for a short moment, but the tealhead averted his gaze just as fast, causing the latter to smirk.

"Uhm, I'm good. I'm still trying to figure something out about my basketball. It sounds a lot easier than it is…" a small unnoticeable blush appeared on Kuroko's cheeks as Akashi retreated. He noticed he made the boy uncomfortable and strangely he actually cared for some reason.

"Do you like Shakespeare, Kuroko?"

"Eh? How?" Kuroko frowned and turned his face towards the redhead. "How did you know I was reading Shakespeare Akashi-kun? You didn't even see the cover. Are you a stalker?"

"Kuroko, you're forgetting who you are talking to. I saw the page when I leaned over your shoulder. You're reading 'The Tempest', right? Or am I wrong? There is no way I could be your stalker. I don't have the time for that" Akashi answered, the tealhead looked at him bewildered. "I know all Shakespeare's books by heart, Kuroko. It was part of my upbringing. Although, I've read the book in its original language and not Japanese."

"Akashi-kun, you're amazing, aren't you? Not many people can distinct a book just by taking a fast peek at a page… I'm surprised."

"It's natural for me, Kuroko. You have to understand that. If you ever want to read it in English feel free to ask me. I own all the books or if you want to read anything else, you can ask me as well. I can recommend you some really interesting books.

Akashi liked reading, in the past and even now reading it's a way to escape his tiresome reality, He had read countless of classics and top literature in both English and Japanese. His mansion even had a library where he could find nearly all the books he needed. Some of the books were really rare, almost ancient. The covers would come off due to their oldness and the colour of the pages had turned into a darker shade of yellow. They were passed down by the family for generations. While the newer books that were separated from the older ones were increasing daily.

Kuroko nodded in response. "Thank you. I will let you know if I need something to read, but I think I will be fine for a while. So, Akashi-kun, what are you doing here?"

"I just arrived here. I'm about to do some research for an economic paper for next week. I think your class has to do it as well right?"

"Ah, you're right. I completely forgot about it… Is it a lot of work?" Akashi noticed the slight worry on Kuroko's face. It actually was a lot of work for a 'normal' person, but compared to what his father made him do everyday, this was a child's game. "It's not that much. I'm about to start on it. Would you like to join me?" Kuroko shook his head, declining his offer. "Thank you for your offer, but I rather do it alone."

Akashi raised his eyebrow in response. Someone had just rejected his offer. Kuroko actually rejected his offer and it wasn't just a normal offer, he actually had suggested to _help_ someone and that person had just brushed it off as if it was nothing. He left out a sigh. "Do as you like. I will be taking my leave now. It was nice running into you, Kuroko." He was about to leave when he felt Kuroko's hand grabbing his wrist. "Akashi-kun. Don't be offended, please. It is very kind of you to offer your help, however I need to do research on my own. Else I will never get better." His hands brushed softly over the redhead's when he loosened his grip. "I will see you on Sunday." He smiled before turning his focused back to the book he was reading. Akashi ran his fingers through his red hair as he walked away.

_What just happened? No, what is happening_…?

He felt a bit of disappointment when Kuroko said, 'No' to his offer to study together. Normally, it wouldn't even bother him. He wouldn't even suggest something like this in the first place. And yet despite the rejection he was actually close to what you call _happy._

* * *

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